Family hubs offering parenting support and youth services will be rolled out across every local authority in England, the government has announced. The £500 million plan aims to support 500,000 more children in the most disadvantaged areas. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the “Best Start” family hubs would “give a lifeline” to families.The Conservatives said there was “little clarity on what’s genuinely new and what simply rebrands existing services”.The idea of a family hub dates back to the early 2000s when New Labour introduced “Sure Start” centres – focused on supporting young families with early education, childcare and health advice. Many closed after 2010 when funding was cut by the Tories. But last year the Conservative government under Rishi Sunak rolled out 400 new “family hubs” offering a wider range of services across 75 local authorities. Now Labour say the hubs will be in every local authority by April 2026, before expanding them to up to 1,000 by the end of 2028. Pushed by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on whether the plans are simply a continuation of a Conservative policy, Phillipson said the Labour government was “going further” than the Tories and “revitalising family services”.The hubs will offer services ranging from birth registration and midwifery support to debt advice and youth clubs. Officials hope the spaces will also provide families access to other services and social care.Phillipson said: “It’s the driving mission of this gover …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnFamily hubs offering parenting support and youth services will be rolled out across every local authority in England, the government has announced. The £500 million plan aims to support 500,000 more children in the most disadvantaged areas. Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson said the “Best Start” family hubs would “give a lifeline” to families.The Conservatives said there was “little clarity on what’s genuinely new and what simply rebrands existing services”.The idea of a family hub dates back to the early 2000s when New Labour introduced “Sure Start” centres – focused on supporting young families with early education, childcare and health advice. Many closed after 2010 when funding was cut by the Tories. But last year the Conservative government under Rishi Sunak rolled out 400 new “family hubs” offering a wider range of services across 75 local authorities. Now Labour say the hubs will be in every local authority by April 2026, before expanding them to up to 1,000 by the end of 2028. Pushed by the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg on whether the plans are simply a continuation of a Conservative policy, Phillipson said the Labour government was “going further” than the Tories and “revitalising family services”.The hubs will offer services ranging from birth registration and midwifery support to debt advice and youth clubs. Officials hope the spaces will also provide families access to other services and social care.Phillipson said: “It’s the driving mission of this gover …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
